The present invention relates to improvements in desiccant feeder systems and apparatus.
The prior art patents listed below show bottle unscrambling systems and apparatus. However, these patent do not teach or suggest the desiccant feeding system and apparatus of the present invention.
Omega Design Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,447
HIGH RATE TRANSFER WHEEL FOR ORIENTING UNSCRAMBLED CONTAINERS
Issued: Jun. 6, 1995
and
Omega Design Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,338
BOTTLE UNSCRAMBLER
Issued: Apr. 7, 1987
The canister desiccant feeder of the present invention has seven areas to be monitored for optimum machine performance. They are reservoir hopper, pre-orienter, air transfer device, desiccant shuttle system, container handling system, verification system, rejection station and discharge conveyor.
The hopper supplies desiccant by gravity feed through a xe2x80x9cstopperxe2x80x9d valve at the bottom of the reservoir. The stopper valve is actuated by a connecting rod and lever attached to an air cylinder outboard of the reservoir. The stopper is cycled open and closed when the pre-orienter requires desiccants. The cycle time and the movement of the stopper should not require adjustments during normal operation.
The pre-orienter begins the orienting process by forming a single column of desiccants and transferring the column to the air transfer device. A sensor called the pre-orienter sensor controls the quantity of desiccants in the pre-orienter. This sensor signals the stopper valve to open and close, hence delivering desiccants to the pre-orienter. The level of desiccants directly affects the overall operating efficiency of the pre-orienter.
Sorter discs are used to form a groove or trough in which the desiccants are columnized. Sorter discs are exchanged at changeovers to form different size grooves for different size/shape desiccants. Air jets are used to help position the desiccants properly in the sorter disc""s groove.
The air transfer device for the present invention transports the oriented desiccants from the pre-orienter to the shuttle. The air transfer device utilizes compressed air to transfer the desiccants. Upon the exit from the pre-orienter a reducer is coupled to an air amplifier, which is connected to a discharge tube and the desiccant transfer tubing. Slots milled into the tubing regulate the fill height of the desiccants to a determined height and once the slots are blocked then the back pressure in the tubing will not allow the transfer of any more desiccants. A sensor is mounted to confirm the presence of desiccants within the tube. If the eye acknowledges absence of desiccants, then the container handling system is stopped.
The desiccant shuttle system consists of a main housing (top and bottom block), a linear electronic solenoid, a spring and a desiccant transfer block. The desiccants are supplied to the shuttle by the aforementioned transfer device and then are available for dispensing. The shuttle is in a non-active (retracted) state and the proper quantity of desiccants are stopped by a ridge on the bottom block and allowed to stack. The desiccants will remain in this configuration until activation. The activation is provided through a gate eye sensor, which signals the linear solenoid to activate. Desiccants are then moved within the transfer block to a position where the desiccants can exit the transfer block into the bottle below. Exit from the transfer block is assisted by an air nozzle to achieve higher speed. The transfer block is maintained in its extended position for a determined period of time. Next, the linear solenoid is deactivated and a spring returns the transfer block to its original position.
Desiccants are dispensed into the bottles at a predetermined speed which is dependent upon the neck of the bottle. In accordance with the verification system of the present invention, the eye verifies if a desiccant has been inserted into the bottle. The eye is mounted under the bottle in the container handling system and senses through the bottle for the desiccant. The system also includes a leading edge eye sensor and a trailing edge eye sensor. The leading edge eye determines when a bottle is entering the verification area and the trailing edge eye determines when it is leaving the area. If a desiccant is not detected, then the bottle is rejected at the rejection station. The rejection station rejects the bottle via an air jet into a bin.
In accordance with the discharge conveyor of the present invention, the discharge conveyor""s tabletop chain speed should be adjusted to provide a smooth transfer of containers through the system. A sensor called the backlog sensor monitors the conveyor discharge conditions at the edge of the canister desiccant feeder. Should the conveyor backlog or overload, the backlog sensor will signal the entire canister desiccant feeder to pause. Once the blockage has cleared, the machine will automatically restart. Minor adjustments to the timer settings of the sensor may be required to compensate for actual in-plant operations, conveyor velocities and container sizes and shapes.
The system of the present invention has many features. They include the fact that the system may be mounted on an adjustable free-standing mobile frame which can be easily moved into and over existing conveyor systems. The system is fully automatic and provides on demand operation with discharge backlog detection. The system is adaptable to a ten gallon unit mounted floor-level hopper with vertical elevator to minimize floor space requirements. The system is provided with a desiccant drop verification and is fully guarded with interlocks. The system does not require changing the parts for different sized bottles or containers and provides positive container control through variable speed side belts with shaft encoder to track container speeds. The system and apparatus of the present invention also has a container reject for missing desiccant with reject verification.